Welcome Home, Odysseus. Penelope Has Missed You…

3 days until Odysseus comes home.

Spoilers for Ithaca Saga⚠️

NOT ODYSSEUS’ NAME BEING SUNG IN THE DANGER IS NEAR MOTIF

I highkey picked up the Odyssey interested in how the source material differs from Epic. I cannot express how accurate this is and how much whiplash these past two sagas were.

Number 1 Rule of adapting the Odyssey into EPIC is: if it can be more dramatic, it will be more dramatic.

The Greeks decide to throw the infant Trojan prince from the walls because they're scared he'll try to avenge his family? No, Zeus comes down to personally give Odysseus a vision of being killed and says his family WILL die. Kill the baby that reminds you of your son right now, it's the gods will.

Odysseus goes to greet the inhabitants of an island and gets trapped in a cave for two days by the cyclops that's eating his men one by one? Nope, we got BOSS BATTLE 30v1 in the Ithacans' favour until BAM fourteen pancakes are made by Polyphemus' club and oh shit Polites is DEAD-

Athena is just vaugely absent for the whole journey until the end? We got emotionally charged platonic breakups instead, with yelling and insults and "well I'm breaking up with you FIRST!"

Smooth sailing to Ithaca? STOOOORM-

Odysseus' great-great-great-grandfather giving him a speed boost to help him on his way home? Get ready for trickster wind gods, mischievous winions, and a game that was rigged from the start.

Random-ass suspicious and greedy crew mates open the bag? It's Eurylochus, his second in command, his brother-in-law, the man he trusted, Eurylochus WHYYY

Parking in the wrong harbour and getting boulders thrown at the fleet by angry man-eating giants while Odysseus backs away veeery slowly? Nah Poseidon himself pulls up to dunk on them, and Odysseus has to make a last minute getaway using the power of STOOORM to avoid being curbstomped like his fleet.

Odysseus gets some stronger drugs from a god to make him immune to the other drugs of a goddess? Well these drugs actually give him magic powers which he uses to engage in a Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh style BOSS BATTLE!

Get some closure with dead loved ones and acquaintances, and be the first interviewer of the fallen heroes of past ages? Nope, we just got TRAUMA and a whole boatload of guilt!

A neat outline of what the rest of the journey will look like, a warning against an island of cows that will slow him down, and the way to appease Poseidon? This Tiresias just says "Y'know there used to be a world where you made it home, BUT I DON'T SEE IT NO MORE. IT'S GONE. IT'S OVER. Also, your palace is fucked."

Sailing past the sirens while getting to be the first mortal to hear their song and live? M U R D E R

Sailing past Scylla to avoid Charybdis and accidentally getting six men eaten because he thought he could totally take Scylla, even though Circe said he couldn't, and then he realised he, in fact, cannot take Scylla? ... Eurylochus, light up six torches.

Eurylochus waits till Odysseus is out hunting and then goes behind his back to mutinously rally the crew and feast on some sacred cattle? Betrayal on both sides, stabby stab, K.O., and then Odysseus helplessly watches them make the greatest mistake of their lives as they ignore his pleas.

Quick clean and easy lightning-strike to the ship, leaving Odysseus to cling to some driftwood and paddle away? Zeus himself appears to the mortals, monologues, makes Odysseus be the one to choose, and then smites the whole ship leaving Odysseus to nearly drown anyway.

Telemachus gets advice from a disguised Athena to yell at the suitors and then sail away to look for news of his missing father? Telemachus gets into a full on beatdown with the suitors and gets FIGHT CLUB TRAINING from Athena!

Athena goes "dad I want my favourite mortal back? Did you forget about him? I think you forgot about him" and Zeus instantly replies "nonsense. How could I have forgotten that funny little mortal? Of course you can have him back my sweet favoured child <3" and then Athena skips off to Ithaca? "Father please-" "LIGHTNING BOLT! ANOTHER LIGHTNING BOLT! LIGHTNING BOLT TO THE FACE HOW DARE YOU ASK ME OF SUCH A THING!"

Poseidon does a double take "wait they let him go?? Oh hell nah!" and then sends a giant fuck off storm for Odysseus to swim through until he reaches the Phaeacians? No, Poseidon's just been there on Ithaca's shores, waiting for eight years, now get in the water BITCH- except Odysseus is just like "oh yeah? Fucking FIGHT ME"

You thought the suitors in the Odyssey were bad? Jorge really just said "dial that shit up to ELEVEN"

Why not both

Ugly crying

Valid. I’d also love sit Jorge down and ever so kindly ask him 100+ questions abt Epic. Like yes, yap to me about your massive 3 year long project please. Yap about the decisions you’ve made for Odysseus’ narrative. Tell me why you picked certain instruments for certain characters. Tell me why you removed certain characters and arcs like Lucothea and Nausica. Yap to me for hours on end about all of the cut songs you have stashed away, tell me what it was like writing for these 3 to 4 years. Tell me how many times you’ve had to check and double check the Odyssey and how intently it needed to be studied for this musical to happen.

Oh to be able to sit down with Jorge Rivera-Herrans and absolutely bombard him with so many questions about Epic. Guys I’m currently about to get my Ancient World Studies honours and double major in drama that’s really interested in literature, how receptions shape the public opinions about said literature, and how people go about making these decisions this like my thing and I love Epic SO MUCH. You don’t understand how much this MEANS TO ME

The horrors persist, but so does Odysseus and his love for his wife.

Hey so anyone remember that cut song “Need Her to Be Mine”? Yeah I just realized that the way young Odysseus calls for Athena and says “to be mine” is the same as when Telemachus addresses Athena and says “fine” in “We’ll be Fine”

I’m Unwell :)

Today’s agenda: listen to the entirety of Vengeance to find motifs and my favorite songs. So far in order my favorites are…

1.Charybdis

2.Dangerous

3.Get in The Water

4.600 Strike

5.Not Sorry for Loving You

Please note I loved every single song, but I need to re listen to them to give proper thoughts

GUYS GUYS LOOK AT HOW PRETTY THIS ART IS SHOUTOUT TO KISU-DOODLES

some odysseus doodles

Me on December 25th: